David J.

Such as? ← Such as mousse, meringue, jaconde (and decorating it with paste), various methods of chocolate decorations (fans, multi-colored plaques, etc.) and macaroons.

I would like to master a few recipies from "The Patisserie of Pierre Hermé". That will require mastering several techniques that I was introduced to by Norman Love at the two day class at the French Pastry School last fall.

I simply had eight 1/4" x 1/2" aluminum bars cut from longer bar stock at a local "Metal Supermarket" that I use for ganache and caramel. I use Scotch tape to tape them down to a Silpat and don't have any problem with leakage. Pate de fruit and ganache are both thick enough that it's not an issue. The tape lets me scrape the top without causing them to shift around. I have rectangular bars because I stack them to get dual layer truffles, half pate de fruit or marshmallow and half ganache. At 1/2" wide they are plenty stable and the two 1/4" bars make for a 1/2" tall center for the truffle which works out fine.

The first time the ganache remained too soft to pipe into the beehive shape. I chilled the ganache, but then it was both too soft and too hard in the piping bag which led to runny shapes or a clogged tip, sometimes on the same piece. Later I redid the ganache with care to ensure the chocolate was tempered and I got a much more consistent plasticity which allowed me to pipe the proper shape. The ganache didn't melt to a runny mess where I was holding the bag as it did previously. It's been many weeks since I did that so I can't recall much more detail. I attribute it to the more stable Beta crystals in the tempered chocolate. Piped shapes like the beehives are the most demanding on ganache consistency.

I had the same problem with the Buckwheat Beehives. I solved it by making sure my ganache was tempered.

This year I have continued to perfect my chocolate skills. I managed to cast my own chocolate truffle spheres using a two piece mold and upgraded my equipment so I could increase production. I also designed and constructed my own guitar cutter. I think it was this year that I started producing dual layer truffles with pate de fruit and marsmallow. I'm edging closer and closer to starting a small business on the side. On the pastry side I've learned just enough to become dangerous. After staring at various professional level pasty books for a long time I took Norman Love's class and learned that with practice I can tackle some of those recipies. Next year will be dedicated to more practice.

A truely wonderful story! I have learned an extraordinary amount from this forum as well. Some specific techniques, some good books to read, and a couple good classes to attend, but probably the most important thing is that anyone who really wants to can learn to make top notch truffles and bon-bons.

You are quite right. JPW was working in a tight space with the whole class crowded around and working by himself. I think the chocolate in the melter was getting a bit thick at that point as well. If I recall correctly this demo was at the end of the third day

Tammy, To get spikes you double coat the truffles and roll them on a truffle grid just as the second coat is setting up. I've got a grid but haven't used it yet. Now I'll have to try it.

it's at C.H.I.P.S. books, pre-order from Amazon (US) and Amazon (CA) from what i can tell. Amazon (US) doesn't have a price yet. There's a thread started in the cookbook forum. ← I decided not to wait for Amazon to start shipping and bought it from C.H.I.P.S. The book is due to arrive on the 27th.

Oh, another way is to pipe your ganache into premade shells. That's what I did this year to obtain a sphere for a soft caramel truffle. I made the shells myself with a two piece mold. Of course that's probably more work than double coating...

I had that very same problem with chocolate covered cherries. I found that if I left the stem on I could suspend them long enough to let the bottom set, but not otherwise. My solution was to cut out a large number of small diameter chocolate disks to set them on, though my first try had rather thick disks. Better than that would be to take a 1mm thick silicone mat, punch small holes, and use that as a template on parchment paper. That would produce small thin premade bottoms to drop your truffles on. The other solution is to double coat them, creating a thin initial coating by coating them with a little chocolate in the palm of your hand. That's the method JPW used when showing us how to use a truffle grid.

That's what I speculated in an earlier post. It would be relatively inexpensive (compared to buying a vacuum mixer) to build a vacuum chamber out of a food saver jar and pump. To be really effective though you would probably need to purchase a special pump that could get down to 28-29 inches of mercury. I don't think the food saver pumps can generate a deep enough vacuum to fully degass a thick ganache or frosting. I just ordered Jean-Pierre Wybauw's second "Fine Chocolates" book, this one focusing on ganache. It's supposed to have a technical section including ganaches created under vacuum so I'm hoping he will have some scientific answers to the question of what it buys you.

Thanks for the alert! JPW told us at a workshop at the French Pastry School over a year ago that he was going to work on this after his Chocolate Decorations book, but I hadn't heard anything about and was afraid he might have changed his plans.

One might think so, but the class description leads me to believe it is aimed at the professional pastry chef looking to expand into chocolate rather than somone looking to work on an industrial scale. As such, the chef thinks it's of some value. I don't need it at present since my stuff gets consumed far before any expiration date, but it's interesting and possibly usefull for the future.

I'm talking about the class where tempered chocolate is added to to Robot Coupe along with the boiling cream, then the vacuum applied and the blade started. My cheap version would do the same thing, just have a smaller blade. But then I'm not sure you need to blend in a vacuum anyway. If you use an immersion blender so as not to add any air in the blending process and apply a vacuum after the blending you should be able to draw any existing air out fairly cheaply. I know that relatively thick silicone rubber is treated this way for mold making and that is as thick or thicker than any ganache. I spotted a webpage detailing the use of a pump with ridgid Rival vacuum food containers for just such a project. That would be a relatively cheap way to try extending your shelf life.

There is always my home-made guitar cutter. If you or someone you know are moderately handy with simple shop tools, you can trade your time in building for quite a few dollars. This was built with a table saw, a hand drill, and a hand torch. After using JB-Weld expoy to attach the handle I'm wondering if the whole unit couldn't just be glued together.

I'm tempted to see if I could build one using an immersion blender and a modified vacuum jar.

It sounds interesting. I don't know how much more I have to learn about making ganache, but a class at the FPS makes a great learning vacation. Too bad a vacuum equiped Robot Coupe runs over $3K US minus the pump. How much of an advantage does vacuum mixing give?

Does this not mar the shine on the chocolates? ← I pack them only after they have a chance to fully set and I didn't notice any problem. My take on it is that it actually prevents the damage you would get with the pieces banging into each other if they were packed loose in a container. Take a look at the shells in the gift box.

It doesn't take all that much time. Once I figured out how many it would hold I just quickly placed them in one at a time, ran a finger along the seal, and vaccuumed it. The time is well worth being able to freeze them with no ill effects.

It helps if your tool is rather stiff as the tendency is for it to bow in the middle with pressure and you end up with a dished out slab. I use a very stiff 14" wide drywall knife and hold it at least 45 degrees to prevent this. I also do this with the ganache as soft as it can be right after pouring in the frame. With practice I've managed to get a nice flat surface.

The bags can be reused as long as the contents are dry. They have a double layer in half the bag to create air channels and those can trap liquids which would be very difficult to wash out. I used the gallon size bags to store from 17-25 pieces with space all around each piece. Before evacuation After evacuation

I looked for them on the tupperware site before I posted and I couldn't find them either. I suspect that it's a line that gets sold only through the independant dealers. There is a tiny number on the bottom that looks more like a batch number than a model number as it is "5348B-1" on one and "5348B-2" on a second one. It's right below the dial type mark also used as a batch marker so I don't think it's usefull. There are no other markings at all. My wife doesn't recall what they cost.

For short term storage I use these handy Tupperware containers my wife spotted at a mall kiosk: They meaure 11"x6.75"x1.75" and stack nicely. For long term storage I now freeze using the new Reynolds vaccum bags.